GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan warned of oil refinery shutdowns that could cause gas prices back to previous highs in some parts of the country, while the Gulf Coast states and parts of the Northeast are seeing a decline, while California gas prices are surging again.
The problem is that refineries normally do maintenance in the fall because demand goes down after the end of the summer driving season. There are some refineries down for maintenance for the next month or so, but we are also seeing unexpected issues in both northern and southern California.
The refineries are also serving markets like Las Vegas and Phoenix where prices are going up. Gas prices in California could get close to their previous high watermark due to maintenance and unexpected outages, which was $6.46 a gallon in mid-June. We could get close to that on the West Coast, but that does not tell the full story. Gas prices are moving in different directions depending on where you are in the country.